21yrs old.. propecia has thus far ruined my sex life

[propeciasucks]

21 yrs old, propecia 1mg

I am quite worried.

I have a pretty laid back view on hair loss and it was only at the suggestion of my mother 2 weeks ago that I visited a dematologist and started taking propecia. I took 1mg each day for 7 days and then realized something quite frightening. I had not been having many erections to speak of, and of the ones I did have, none of them were spontaneous. None in the morning. None throughout the day.

The erections I did have were also nowhere near as firm as the ones I normally have. It was an uphill battle just to get an erection.. Something I barely even had to think about in the past. It just happened.

So now it's been over a week since I stopped taking propecia. I am waiting for my libido and erections to return to normal, but nothing has happened so far. For something that was such a non-issue for me (hairloss.. I don't really care) I would have never touched the drugs in the first place if I had known this would happen. I'm feeling really stupid for having not looked into the side effects more closely before taking the drug. I normally would have had better sense than to take chemicals for cosmetic purposes.

I used to have what I would characterize as an above-average sex drive and my erections were really good. Just 2 days ago, however, I was turning down sexual opportunities due to the effects of this drug. I am really frightened. Somebody tell me this will go away COMPLETELY sometime soon. How much dammage can one week of this drug do?

Thanks in advance for any advice or information. I would really appreciate hearing what other guys have gone through. Sorry for anything I've said here that may have seemed redundant.. I'm just in a bit of a panic.

<rant>
My revised stance on hair loss is that it's just a natural thing for men to undergo, and that there is no point in f*****g with your body to this extent to do anything about it. If you're concerned about what women will think, go find some with enough brains to not give a sh*t, or shave your head. As far as I'm concerned, hairloss is if anything a testiment to one's masculinity. Embrace it! Spend your valuable time worrying about more important issues.
</rant>

- alex

 

[Koros]

I think its all in your head. At first propecia usually raise your testosterone and you feel increased sex drive.

I had negative sexual effect on propecia but it happened MONTHS after I started the treatement. During the first weekd I had increased libido.

 

[nuttyrich]

I agree have never seen propecia decrease a sex drive in the first MONTH usually goes through the roof. Regardless you gave up and if your own mother is telling you take propecia,either she's a good mother trying to help you.. or she's rather mean,usually family are the LAST to tell you,i'd take a HINT from your MOM and stay on that propecia,you may be laid back now but when your 75 % bald you may not view it like you are now,always best to attack at an early age. You taking a few months of "soft erections" over hair,what good will that do you if your bald and no chick wants you? UNless u look good with a shaved head, you NEED your hair! Superficial world,yet there are treatments.! I'd stay on it,then again.. if you couldn't taking losing an erection for awhile you probably wouldn't be able to take the shedding either so maybe your better off letting nature takes it's course and let it fall out naturally.

-Rich

 

[Yardbird]

I can tell you from my own experience that the erection problems you can get from finasteride are not "all in your head." Actually, I'm tired of hearing people say that just because they were lucky enough to avoid such problems. This problem is a real, universally acknowledged side effect of finasteride, and I think it's pretty reductive to say it's someone's imagination when they report such issues. Yes, the problems are likely to go away in time, but for some, they remain. Not everyone responds to these medications the same way, and some people do require a certain level DHT to maintain their sex drives.
I also experienced a decrease in erection firmness starting from the first month on the medication, and I have had spontaneous erections and basically a lot of ups and downs with my sex drive over the last two years (mostly downs).
I'm currently taking l-arginine to counter the side effect, and it seems to be working very well so far, knock on wood.

 

[Koros]

Never did I say there was no erection problem. Actually, I stopped propecia after several month because of sexual side effect.

What i'm saying is that a decreased libido/erectil after only 1-2 week is much likely to be a problem "in the head".

Koros

 

[BadHairDecade]

I wouldn't say he's imagining the problem. Some people are just more sensitive to meds than others. Since the sides happened so quickly it may take some time (guessing maybe a month) for your libido to return. As far as not worrying about your hairloss....If you can do that great. I thought I could too about a year ago....Then my hair REALLY started to go quickly. So I did something about it, but not before doing research on the meds. You have to weigh the options. At my age (34) I felt I could deal with any side effects if they happened. If I was 21 I may not have made the same choice.
It's hard for some people to deal with hair loss. I wish it was as easy as just saying F-it, but for me it's not. I don't think it's a matter of getting women for most people either. It's more like having a low self-esteem which affects confidence.
In my first months on Porpecia I experienced an increase in sex drive. I'm in month 4 now and have had some of the SE's you mentioned but it's not consistant. So it seems my system is trying to balance itself out still. As far as results from Propecia I can't complain. My vertex has just about filled in completely. Quite amazing to me.
Bottom line do what's right for you.

BHD

 

[HairyN]

how could it possibly be in his head if he didnt know about the side effect to begin with...read the post

...

 

[Yardbird]

Exactly.
Koros, I didn't mean to flame you or anything. My comments weren't directed at you specifically; I am just leary of that whole "in your head" comment.
I think giving proscar time is a good idea since many people feel that side effects go away in time; however, I think if you're having a problem, you have to acknowledge it and monitor what's gping on with your body.

 

[Axon]

I severely doubt one week could do significant and permanent damage.

 

[bshoni22]

PROPECIA VS AVODART

Simply, is it possible for ones body to develope a tolerance, resistance or immunity to these drugs?

I used to take propecia and then I switched to Avodart becasue I heard that it was five times mroe effective. I am taking it every day. Too much?
I statred late december and last week I noticed that I was not getting erections as easily if at all as I had been jsut a week or so before. I heard someone say that taking l-arginine helps counter these troubling side effects. Are there any more supplements that you all could recommend?

Is one of these medicines better than the other? when i say better I mean the relative benefits of each weighed agaisnt their side effects.

thanks a lot

shoni

 

[BadHairDecade]

bshoni22,

How about starting another thread. Your question really doesn't relate to this thread and you'll get more answers that way

 

[Slartibartfast]

Not everyone responds to these medications the same way, and some people do require a certain level DHT to maintain their sex drives.

I had a slight loss of libido whilst on finasteride, which makes sense if your sex drive is DHT dependent but why, when I switched from finasteride to dutasteride, did my libido increase inspite of an even higher level of DHT suppession?

Any thoughts.

Slarti

 

[Yardbird]

I wish I knew. Did dutasteride have a positive effect on erections or was that a non-issue?

 

[Slartibartfast]

Hard to say for sure, I think my erections were slightly softer whilst I was on finasteride but have returned to pre-finasteride hardness since switching to dutasteride. Maybe it's the boost in testosterone that dutasteride gives you?

 

[Yardbird]

Yeah but finasteride increases testosterone too. I have no idea why side effects would go away on dutasteride, but you're not the first person who has told me that. I think it's not that common, but does happen for some people. That being the case, wow, I really have to sit and wonder what would happen to me if I switched to dutasteride.
I'd love it. I'm just not so sure if dutasteride is entirely safe yet.

 

[Jack_the_Lad]

I got sexual side effects about two weeks into the medication, I definetly noticed softer erections, I continued using finasteride and most of the side's went away within a week. Maybe that sounds strange to get side effects and have them disappear so quickly aswell

I'm now on month 6 of the finasteride and I can tell you my sex drive has gone from strenght to strenght, I'd say it's slighly higher than when I first started. I'm also taking Ameno Acid supplements which coincidently has L-Arginine as one of them. I don't have any complaints, I think your body needs time to adjust to a hormonal change, how long I suppose depends on the individual.My theroy is that the small percentage of people never re-adjust to this

Jack

 

[David77]

I experienced softer erections about a week or two after starting finasteride, and just as I was getting really worried about this in week 5, it suddenly seemed to start gettng better, and I'm pretty sure I've returned to normal now (week 6). If not, then certainly very close.

This really is a ride. My dick is hard, but my hair has now gone limp.

Hey Jack, how have your results been so far? Your regime is the same as mine almost.

 

[Jack_the_Lad]

David77
My hair has definetly stopped falling out, I'm not losing hair anymore like some dog moulting in the summer, I'd say that's good. The general apperrance of my hair has got better(looks a little more lively), but I can't report alot of regrowth, I'm not really expecting alot of regrowth, even still I'm not going to sulk about it. I'm fairly pleased with my regmen as I haven't experienced any shed's and have reversed the hairloss situation ever so slightly. I might look into a small hair transplant now because at least I know that this medication works for me and I'm pretty sure they put you on it after a hair transplant.

Jack

 

[Whammy]

I'm about to get Proscar hopefully, where do you get this l-arginine that people speak off?

 

[incognito]

I'm ten days into finasteride, and I cant keep me sh*t down. unk:

Since I don't have a girlfriend, my "friends with benefits" are loving it.

I think that over time the side effects will decrease as your body adjusts to the hormone changes. Thats my feeling on the whole scene.

Rock on pansies.